Associated Press
BEIRUT: Syrian government forces have retaken half of the rebel held Damascus enclave of eastern Ghouta and effectively cut the area in two, the U.K. based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday.

The news came as fresh air strikes on the besieged area brought the death toll for Wednesday's bombardment to 45, the observatory added.

At least 18 of the day's victims were killed in strikes carried out by Russian warplanes, it said.

Government forces carried out punishing airstrikes against the opposition-held suburb of Damascus Wednesday, seeking to divide the besieged enclave in two and further squeeze rebels and tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside, state-run media and opposition activists reported.

The government, determined to wrest the suburbs from the control of rebels after seven years of war, has resorted to extreme levels of shelling and bombardment to clear the way for its troops to advance on the ground.

The state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV station on Wednesday broadcast live shots from the region, showing dense columns of smoke rising above the town as explosions and rockets could be heard flying overhead. SANA news agency said troops were on the outskirts of Misraba, a rebel-held town in the heart of the enclave.

Dramatic videos released by the opposition's Syrian Civil Defense on Wednesday showed rescuers digging away hard-packed rubble to rescue a dust-covered little boy and a baby girl in the town of Arbeen.

In Geneva, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein denounced claims by Syria's government that it's doing all it can to protect civilians as "frankly ridiculous," while its forces lead "indiscriminate, brutal attacks" in eastern Ghouta.

Syria's war, he said, has entered a "new phase of horror" - notably in eastern Ghouta, in the rebel-held Idlib province in the northwest, and around northern Afrin, where he said a Turkish offensive is threatening many civilians.

Civilians are not safe anywhere in eastern Ghouta, and aid workers who entered briefly on Monday said some residents hadn't seen sunlight for two weeks because they were sheltering underground.

At least 800 civilians have been killed since the offensive started Feb. 18, according to the SOHR. Russia's military by its own admission is playing a key role supporting the assault.

Russia's military announced Monday it was offering safe passage for rebels and their families out of eastern Ghouta, where some 400,000 people have been trapped under a relentless government campaign of shelling and airstrikes.

Olwan said Wednesday that rebels had plugged their defensive lines after they crumbled in the early days of the assault.

The opposition generally rejects evacuation agreements, saying they amount to demographic engineering - a tactic through which the government forcibly displaces its opponents.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all parties to abide by a 30-day cease-fire ordered by the Security Council on Feb. 24 to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in desperate need. A rare humanitarian aid convoy made it to eastern Ghouta on Monday but was forced to cut short its mission amid severe bombardment by the government. It was not clear whether another convoy, planned for Thursday, would go through. Aid agencies said they were negotiating security guarantees ahead of the mission.

The Security Council was expected to meet Wednesday to address the stillborn cease-fire.

Meanwhile, Turkey called on the United States to prevent U.S.-backed Kurdish forces from sending fighters deployed against Daesh (ISIS) to shore up Kurdish forces battling a Turkish offensive in an enclave in northwest Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said Turkey wants the United States to "step in and prevent" the redeployment.

A spokesman for Arab militias within the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Tuesday that as many as 1,700 fighters would be redeployed.

Turkey sent troops into the Afrin enclave on Jan. 20 to drive out Syrian Kurdish fighters it considers to be terrorists.

U.S. officials have warned that Turkey's offensive could undermine the fight against the Daesh (ISIS).

Meanwhile, Russia's military said a general was among 39 people killed in the crash of a Russian military transport plane in Syria. Russian military identified him as Maj. Gen. Vladimir Yeremeyev.

The An-26 twin-engine turboprop crashed Tuesday while preparing to land at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria, killing all 33 passengers and six crew on board, the Defense Ministry said. The plane was flying from the Kweires air base near Aleppo in northern Syria to Hemeimeem, which serves as the main hub for the Russian campaign in Syria. It said the plane did not come under fire and that the crash was likely caused by a technical failure.